The young man accused of brutally murdering his mother in Mentone in May, 2015 entered a plea of guilty Thursday morning in the courtroom of Judge Shaunathan Bell in Ft Payne.  Tyler Ryan Blansit, now age 24, had reached a plea deal with the state of Alabama to serve a term of 25 years in the state penitentiary, being eligible for parole after 15 years – meaning, he could be a free man before the age of 40.

On May 29th 2015, Blansit called emergency services saying he’d found his mother dead.  Deputies arrived to find Sherri Ann Blansit, age 45, dead in the yard of the home from blunt force trauma.  Tyler Blansit later confessed.  Mentone Police Chief Brad Gregg described the killing as “brutal”, saying the murder weapon was a baseball bat.  DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said that Blansit and his mother had been arguing over his recent grades at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

According to the plea agreement reached with the state Blansit was given credit for 838 jail days served, and the state agreed to not oppose parole once the defendant becomes eligible after 15 years.

(Information Provided in part by the Southern Torch/www.southerntorch.com)